Comments

I don't know about the film but the book is awful. Just flat out bad on every single level, and I say this as someone who happily consumes a lot of literature of questionable quality. I know a lot of people who loved it in a so-bad-it's-good sense, but it didn't even work as that for me; it's just so bad it's bad. Saying that, it's kind of fascinating to read with an eye towards what on Earth made an agent and publisher correctly predict that it would be a multi-million seller.

Yes, it hit that note for me. Could not put the books down, from some sort of sick fascination. I will be seeing the film, too, especially given that the bloke playing the main character seems to think the books are as awful as I do.

Oh dear. I bought it as an ebook just to try out my new Sony e-reader. I've got quite a high tolerance for rubbish, but even so...

As for the movie, I've not seen it (and don't intend to at least until it comes out on a cheap DVD!), but given that it took nearly twice its production budget in the first weekend it was released in the US, I'd say sequels are inevitable.

Heh. I just finished reading "Twilight" this afternoon - it was my "holiday" book over the Thanksgiving holiday. I enjoyed it. Yeah, there were things about it that were stupid and bad, but for a bit of fluffy reading that doesn't involve any mental activity, it wasn't bad. :) I do want to see the movie, but probably will wait for it to come out on video, since I hardly ever go to the cinema.

It's an acquired taste. I personally had a hard time even wading through the first book, and didn't try with any of the others - it was like reading a very poorly written fanfiction from some hopeful teenager. However, there are some on my friends list who absolutely adore it.

The story itself, and some of the characters in the story, have great potential. Meyers just didn't live up to that potential. If you'd like... I do have an electronic copy that I'll be more than happy to give to you. I'm planning on purging some books in a few weeks off my hard drive and Twilight is one of those books being sacrificed on the alter of "I want something good to read, so I need more room!"

As far as I can tell the book seems to be the teenage equivalent of a romance novel, with lots of vampiric elements thrown in. The movie looks better... I've heard it cuts out a lot of the purpler prose and gives the characters more believable personalities.

Theresa and I both read it, and liked different things about it, but neither of us would bother to buy the other 3 books in the series. I liked the unfolding mystery, she thought the teenage romantic bit was credible. It would certainly have benefited from a hard editing but there are much worse books out there. I didn't think it is was actually bad, just not great. The target audience is young adult, and I guess it is better to have them reading than playing moronstation.

The first half of the book is amusing, in a cheesy romance (with vampires) sort of way. Tacky and badly written with way too many adjectives though. And who likes their cuddling-objects hard and cold?? Then we'd be cuddling stones, not teddy bears.

But the second half is just plain horrible (or at least the first half of the second half - I haven't gotten further), the relationship between Bella and Edward makes me sick in sheer inequality of power. One thing is gothic romance and damsels in distress, but this is just pure dreck.

I've just re-read the first and am about 50 pages into the second, having just bought the third. I really like the series, although I'll admit the author's better at the Gothic teenage romance than she is at the vampires-fighting aspects. I found the heroine engaging and very likeable, the romance touching, the dilemmas well-drawn and actually fairly original, and the characters well-drawn. And the reviewers are right, it's got a lush, almost hallucinatory feel that's very compelling if you're into that.

Having said that, it may be noted that I'm a big soppy romantic at heart, and I really, REALLY like my teen vampire novels. How much of a big girl's blouse are you?

(Re thette's comment above, I'm not entirely sure what "He stalks/rapes me, therefore I love him" refers to in the series. I've not spotted that theme, but I may be being obtuse.)

Haven't read the book or seen the movie yet; some of my "yay escapist fantasy" friends like the books, while many of my feminist friends are pissed off at the co-dependent/verging-on-abusive relationship between the main characters.

I found this review amusing, as it pointed out many of the parallels between the book and the author's Mormon worldview.